DORIS DAY FILM POLL

[howard]

Glenn Ford was the original choice for Doris' leading man in "Tunnel." In fact, just weeks before shooting, he was being mentioned as the lead. I believe he wasn't feeling well at the time, and so we now have Richard Widmark. It's not a terrible film, but Widmark was no Rock Hudson in the comedy department, and overall, the film just wasn't very funny. It had its moments, but not enough of them.

[Johnny]

It is interesting to see that, "Romance On The High Seas", and "Pillow Talk", are currently tied with eleven votes each and are in third place.

We fell in love with Doris in her first film which was full of charm, sweetness and mistakne identies and in Pillow Talk we have a charming, sweet, funny, sophisitcated comedy filled with mistaken identies. Both films show the essential authenticity of Doris. I think that is why her fans have remained so true.

It is surprising that On Moonight Bay and By the Light of The Silvery Moon have not received more votes. They are so vibrant and filled with outstanding supporting characters and beautiful music. Gordon Mac Rae and Doris shine together as a screen couple.

[Johnny]

It is really surprising that there are no votes for Storm Warming. It is a really good and thoughtful film that seems before it's time. No one would think about Doris in a fim that is so frightening. It was really shocking to see Doris' character die in this film. Ginger Roger, Ronald Reagan and Steve Cochran were outstanding in this unusal film for 1950.

[Jas1]

I love Storm Warning Johnny- it is probably the most diverse/ un-Doris Day film Doris ever did - a very gritty noirish drama.

[Johnny]

I am curious as to why eleven of Doris' 39 films have zero votes. So many of these films are well worth seeing and can be considered classics. There are so many Doris Day fans and I would think some of these films would be among their favouites.

Is it a generation matter?

Could it be that that these films have not been televised in recent years?

Would love to know. Does anyone have any ideas?

[webmaster]

I think it's probably more that people have only been able to choose 5 films, Johnny.

[Johnny]

I saw Young Man With A Horn yesterday on TCM. Kirk Douglas was the featured actor for the day. Doris and Lauren Bacall were great but Kirk Douglas had no chemistry with either one of them. Perhaps it was the self-centered nature of his character he was playing that affected the story.

I think someone like Gregory Peck could have brought more depth and humanity to the role and have better chemistry with Lauren and Doris.

After watching some other of Kirk's movies, it became apparent that his chemistry in movies with Burt Lancaster was at it's best.

[webmaster]

I think someone like Gregory Peck could have brought more depth and humanity to the role and have better chemistry with Lauren and Doris.

You could be right there, Johnny - Douglas always had this detached intensity about him, (or self-centredness, as you put it) I think - Sinatra would have been good too. Bacall was very hard-nosed in this also, only Doris had any humanity!

[Sinem]

Pillow Talk
That Touch of Mink
Send Me No Flowers
The Man Who Knew Too Much

[webmaster]

Simen - did you actually tick the boxes and click 'Vote'?

I ask because I'm the only one who voted for Send Me No Flowers and it's still got only one vote!

Oh, and you can vote for 5 films.

[Sinem]

Ahhh I forgot to vote. I vote now.

Pillow Talk
That Touch of Mink
Send Me No Flowers
The Man Who Knew Too Much

and The Thrill of It All

[webmaster]

Great. That's 2 votes for Send Me No Flowers! An underrated film, I think.

[IslandAnne]

I'm new to the forum and a relatively new Doris Day fan. I believe it was last year that I seen my first DD Film on TCM when they were doing a special and playing back to back DD Films. Funny enough the first film I seen of Doris's was "Romance on the High Seas" which just happens to be the first film she ever did. The next I watched was Tea for Two, It's a Great Feeling, and With Six You Get Egg Roll(I watched this one I have to admit for the title haha I just thought it was such a peculiar name for a film) So after watching those and other films from Doris I was hooked! I am constantly keeping my eye out for anything Doris and have since gone on to buy 5 of her records. Anytime I am near an antique store or flee market and I see records I gravitate to them and immediately look for Doris's records.

I'm trying my best to make my way through all her films and honestly it's hard to pick a favorite because I enjoy watching Doris in all them. But I do have to say her 3 movies with Rock are high on my list of favorites.

I look forward to exploring this board more and gushing over how much I adore Doris!

[webmaster]

Welcome to the forum, Anne - gush as much as you like!

You must watch On Moonlight Bay and By the Light of the Silvery Moon. The first is my favourite of her early films at Warner Bros and the second is the sequel. They were based on books about American society at the beginning of the 20th century by a writer called Booth Tarkington.

You can find more information about them on http://dorisday.net/

So far:
First, Love Me or Leave Me - 22 votes
joint second, Calamity Jane & Pillow Talk - 16 votes each

[IslandAnne]

Thanks! Those are actually 2 I just watched this past Christmas when TCM had them on, I really enjoyed them and so did my Mom as we watched them together. But I will have to read about those books they are based on!

So far I've seen:
Romance on the high Seas
Tea for Two
Lullaby of Broadway
Lucky Me
It's a Great Feeling
Calamity Jane
Pillow Talk
Love Me Or Leave Me
Lover Come Back
Send Me No Flowers
Move Over Darling
(I was telling one of my friends about discovering Doris and she watched Move Over Darling and loved it)
The Thrill of it All
That Touch of Mink
With Six You Get Eggroll
The Winning Team
Storm Warning
It Happened to Jane
Young Man With a Horn (At first I didn't know Doris was in this film but when she came on screen I was pleasantly surprised and went "HEEYYY" )
On The Moonlight Bay
Me Dream Is Yours
Please Don't Eat the Daises
Glass Bottom Boat
By The Light of the Silvery Moon

Next on my hit list I would like to watch are The Man Who Knew Too Much, Midnight Lace and Do Not Disturb.

[Musiclover]

Love Me or Leave Me gets my vote for #1 choice. There's nothing about this film that I don't like.

The others are tied for #2 choice:
I'll See You in My Dreams. It has great songs, wonderful chemistry between Danny Thomas and Doris, good
performances from all the cast, an interesting story (I like biographies), and a nice balance of comedy
and drama.

Please Don't Eat the Daisies. I like the script, the way Doris handles the kids, and the performances of
Spring Byington and Janis Paige.

The Thrill of It All. The lines are great and so is the wardrobe, the kids are cute, and James Garner and
Doris are really believable as a couple.

Glass Bottom Boat. All of the supporting players are strong, the escapism plot is funny, Doris's wardrobe
suits her very well, and her expertise at comedy timing just shines.

It was hard to choose just 5 as favorites. These are my "runners-up," in no particular order:
Romance on the High Seas, Pajama Game, Teacher's Pet, It Happened to Jane, and Pillow Talk.

[Toby_Martin]

Island Anne, welcome to the wonderful world of Doris! Surfing the net, bookstores, record shops and eBay I forums like this one, and eBay has become a way of life for all of us. I love the bond we all share regarding Doris, regardless of our politics, spirituality, or lack of!

[Johnny]

Yes -welcome Island Anne. You will love The Man Who Knew Too Much and Midnight Lace. These films will show you Doris' true dramatic talents and keep you in suspense.

I would like to suggest the cd -Day By Day and Day By Night. It is a real treasure to hear and Doris never sounded better. Also listen to Doris' Love Him cd. So good! Enjoy!!

[BabeWilliams]

My favorite film continues to be The Pajama Game. There is just something magical about it. The musical numbers never fail to put a smile on my face. It is a beautiful story and always makes me extremely happy when I watch it.
My second favorite would be Move Over Darling. This is the very first Doris Day film I had the extreme fortune to watch. The story is heartbreakingly beautiful, and I love James Garner. I feel that the two played off of each other beautifully which resulted in a beautiful product.
My next favorite would be Young at Heart. I love the musical numbers in this film as well (I'm a sucker for musicals). I am also a Sinatra fan, so matching the two together produces something truly terrific.
My next is The Tunnel of Love. I was honestly surprised this film did not receive more votes, it has always been one of my favorites. I am not sure what it is that intrigues me about this film so much. I have always loved the story and the thought behind it.
The last of my five favorites is Lover Come Back. Of course I had to pick a film that featured Rock Hudson. Those two always created magic when they were on film together. I also rather liked the story. I find it funny that Hudson posed as someone else in their first two films together.
I obviously have many other favorites, there are a limited few that I did not thoroughly enjoy, but I would say these are definitely at the top of my list.

[Johnny]

After looking at Storm Warning and The Thrill Of It All recently, i have been struggling with changing my vote to include these film as two of Doris' five best.

There always seems to be something new to see in the story and the characters with these films. My neices are devout fans of Love Me Or Leave Me, Pillow Talk, Lover Come Back, The Thrill Of It All and Midnight Lace.

I will give this some more thought over Thanksgiving weekend. Perhaps I will include By The Light of The Silvery Moon or Moonlight Bay amongst my favourites.

In any case I am thankful for all the great Doris Day films that are so much fun to watch.

[webmaster]

We've been neglecting this - I found it buried somewhere (hadn't been able to find it).

If you haven't already voted, please do.

[Johnny]

I would like to change my vote for Calamity Jane and give it to Storm Warning. I love Calamity Jane but Storm Warning is such a powerful film for Doris.

Storm Warning is an underappreciated film and it needs some love. I wonder how many of the forum members have seen this shocking 1951 film noir.

It would be interesting to know how many forum members have seen all of Doris Day's films.

Thanks for the reminder Bryan to look at the votes. Perhaps there are members who have yet to vote.

[jmichael]

It's interesting to revisit what I wrote in 2012. I would still select the same films, but not in the same order. I can't believe I ranked Romance On High Seas above Love Me Or Leave Me. If I were voting today, my Top Five in order would be:

Love Me Or Leave Me
Pillow Talk
The Man Who Knew Too Much
Romance On The High Seas
Pajama Game.

True confession: I've never been able to sit through all of Tunnel Of Love. My pick for her worst film is Where Were You When The Lights Went Out? with The Ballad Of Josie not far behind.

Michael

[Jas1]

As a matter of interest - I am going to do my top 5 and then go back and see if they have changed.

1. Pillow Talk;
2. Love me or Leave me;
3. Pajama Game;
4. Teacher's Pet;
5. Young at Heart.

[Jas1]

On review- my top 4 remained the same - interesting - I put Young at Heart in now as it is one of my favs - of course Man who knew too much was a better film overall - but my favs are as stated above [for today]!